Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2014 23:43:58 GMT -5
Basic Information
66: P
16294220.24
20A
Name: Henri Corday
Race: Half-Drokagr
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 140
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Platinum Blonde
Class/Occupation: Lord / Rogue
Nobility: Dukedom
Starting Morality: Neutral
Faction: Neutral
Languages: High Cruic, Cruic
Appearance:
If there is one thing Henri Corday cares about, it's his appearance.
He carefully maintains everything about himself. His hair, the only indicator of his mother's identity, is kept in a perfect coif, never a hair loose. His attire is always tight and well-made. He loves dressing up; he loves the annual Masquerade Ball, where he can dress in anything and see all the pretty women and men dressed up, too. He loves, especially, when the noble girls take off their dresses. They love how he dances, and after the masque goes away, they love the angular masculinity to his face, the sort of "exotic" look that gives another hint to his ancestry, but one never questioned.
He is strong, but not any more than a noble has to be. His eyes, a chestnut brown, are the same dull color as his father's, and his skin is an even-toned tan, with only the slightest purplish to darken it. He always has a smile on his face. His appearance is kept consistent, in fact, with the utmost care and most brutal, excessive, obsessive maintenance. As a noble, he must maintain an orderly appearance; as one with questionable birth, he must maintain a legitimate, and in all regards, human one.
This facade, he knows, must never be breached.
Personality:
Behind his carefully-maintained facade, he seeks to bring others together into mutually-beneficial agreements. He feels as if he can, in most cases, deftly negotiate so that everyone benefits, and he just benefits a little bit more. If he were ever to lose his power, he feels as if he would still be able to make friends, forge alliances, and convince people of his points and opinions. He is cool, confident, and suave, and speaks with an element of seduction that seems to persuade people into believing whatever strand of reality he weaves. As a very extroverted person, he keeps his calm even when confronted with enormous opposition.
But while it's all he will tell you about his personality, this is only half the story. He denies his weaknesses, and pushes them back, saving them to be tackled "later," whenever life allows him to confront them. Which, in all likelihood, is never. He has denied his Drokagr birth, believing that his is instead 100% human. He thinks this is happy enough, but wonders what kind of life he would live if he investigated more into the hardly-concealed lie his father told everyone. If he were to live as a half-Drokagr openly, he would escape from the responsibilities of leadership, from the eyes constantly analyzing. An escape would be something. Perhaps, then, he could stop denying another "weaker" half--his sexuality. He has found himself attracted to not just the noble girls, but also his fellow noblemen. He's never acted on the urge, though once he considered attending a masquerade dressed as a woman; as heir to the Corday line, he has rationally concluded that he can't be involved in any controversy. The family doesn't need any more doubt.
Yet, to be free to do as he wishes...
Even when the house is crumbling, the facade must be maintained. The doubt must be suppressed.
History:
Jean Corday, head of the Corday Duchy, married into money. Born a poor villager, he stole a suit and posed as a foreign diplomat in the Farsica family's annual Masquerade Ball. That night, he impregnated the oldest of the Farsica sisters, Bela. The next day, he was dining with her father, discussing political matters over dinner. Bela had fallen in love, and Lord Farsica was overjoyed at Jean's apparent intelligence. He was married into the family quickly and with great celebration, and Jean was given mayorship over a small town.
Jean's down experienced a huge economic boom once gold was discovered in a mining vein nearby, but over the course of Bela's pregnancy, the rest of the Farsica lands experienced a terrible recession. Jean allowed a tax on his town's exports, which was distributed in Farsica's name. Now, they owed him. His heirship was assured, unless the Farsicas had a male child.
They did.
A few nights after Daro Farsica's birth, he suffocated in his crib.
A shock went through the entire family. Suspicions of Jean's involvement were raised, then quickly dismissed, as Bela swore under oath that he had been with her that night. A Drokagr servant was tried, found guilty, and executed the next day, but the damage had been done; Lady Farsica was bedridden with grief, and Lord Farsica had been entirely broken. He prayed to the stars, consulted the books, and decided to grant Jean heirship after his death.
Liselle Corday was born, and two years later came Aurelle. Jean was not angry with his wife; bearing two girls was not her fault, he knew. But she was ashamed, and feared that a third would ensure the end of the line for the Duchy. She insisted that the stars would not let her bear one more until her father died, and the Corday's line was ensured. That happened three years later, as the Lord Farsica grew frail and died. Jean took his place as the leader, with Bela at his side, and so the ages-old Farsica Duchy was renamed Corday. The next year, Bela bore another girl, Claudia.
In Duke Corday's Manse, there worked a few servants, some of which were Drokagr who had been spared an axe to the head. One was named Fay, and she was beautiful. Some time after Claudia's birth, Jean began visiting Fay; the girl was noticed to have grown fat with pregnancy, as had Bela. One night, with witnesses to confirm, Bela gave birth to a son with bright blonde hair. That night, Fay disappeared.
And that was how Henri came to be.
When Henri was ten, Bela could not stand the lies any longer. She publicly divorced and condemned Jean. Bela's claim was that, all those years ago, Jean had not been with her the night Daro Farsica was strangled in his sleep. Beyond that, she claimed that the heirship of Henri Corday was illegitimate, as he was half Corday but had no Farsica blood--that he was born of a Drokagr maidservant.
Jean claimed that she had gone mad, and committed her to the nearest jail, where her words could do no harm. He engaged in a public campaign to confirm the narrative--that Bela and he had conceived Liselle the night Daro was killed, that Henri was the only living male in the line born half-Farsica and half-Corday, and thus, that he was the rightful heir to the Duchy. The public, after a few days of rioting, eventually was convinced.
Henri has lived in the Duke's Manse ever since, keeping the lie strong. He has convinced himself of the truth of Jean's story. Meanwhile, old Farsica's alliance to the Sovereign Kingdom of Cruinthe is not necessarily the new Corday Duchy's alliance. Until Jean dies, the Duchy is considered to still be in a transitory period between lines--hence the need for a half-Farsica to have the throne--and thus, their alliances are liquid, but assumed to be with the SKC.
As a result, he has been sent emissaries from Julgrava's palace, meant to convince him to continue the alliance--sometimes using threats, and sometimes using diplomacy. He has developed a keen sense of the balance in the ongoing struggle for control, and when he inherits his "birthright," plans to become a deft negotiator. He has recently given more favor to the Republic of Cruinthe, as he finds their message of diplomacy extremely attractive.
In his youth, he traveled and grew to know his lands, learning well how to ride a horse. He was taught battle tactics and diplomacy in equal amounts, though he always favored the peaceful option. Perhaps as a child of divorce, he longed to bring two split sides back together through peace talks. He has always used conversation to learn things, whether from his villagers, diplomats, or other nobles. At the annual Masquerade, many other nobles from around the Duchies would attend, and they would converse over a few days. He would also travel outside his own lands to attend events, festivals and balls in the other Duchies. Over this time, he often fell into bed with a noble girl or two; he was always careful, though, not to create a mess. All three of the Corday sisters have been married off, now; he alone would decide the house's future fate.
As Jean grows into old age, many eyes are turning to Henri, wanting to know how he will lead the new Corday Duchy. The time for playful sex and conversational learning is near its end; now, every action will have much greater consequence. But now, his old lovers have grown up, and some of them are in similar positions of power; he finds himself tied in the middle of a complicated web of relationships, even more complicated than the tripartate political diplomacy he's engaged in on the national level.
What a tangled web he has been woven into! Will he continue to repress the truth of his birth, and align his duchy with the revolutionary movements? Or will he discover the truth, embrace it, and in so doing deny himself the right to rule?
66: P
16294220.24
20A
Name: Henri Corday
Race: Half-Drokagr
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 140
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Platinum Blonde
Class/Occupation: Lord / Rogue
Nobility: Dukedom
Starting Morality: Neutral
Faction: Neutral
Languages: High Cruic, Cruic
Appearance:
If there is one thing Henri Corday cares about, it's his appearance.
He carefully maintains everything about himself. His hair, the only indicator of his mother's identity, is kept in a perfect coif, never a hair loose. His attire is always tight and well-made. He loves dressing up; he loves the annual Masquerade Ball, where he can dress in anything and see all the pretty women and men dressed up, too. He loves, especially, when the noble girls take off their dresses. They love how he dances, and after the masque goes away, they love the angular masculinity to his face, the sort of "exotic" look that gives another hint to his ancestry, but one never questioned.
He is strong, but not any more than a noble has to be. His eyes, a chestnut brown, are the same dull color as his father's, and his skin is an even-toned tan, with only the slightest purplish to darken it. He always has a smile on his face. His appearance is kept consistent, in fact, with the utmost care and most brutal, excessive, obsessive maintenance. As a noble, he must maintain an orderly appearance; as one with questionable birth, he must maintain a legitimate, and in all regards, human one.
This facade, he knows, must never be breached.
Personality:
Behind his carefully-maintained facade, he seeks to bring others together into mutually-beneficial agreements. He feels as if he can, in most cases, deftly negotiate so that everyone benefits, and he just benefits a little bit more. If he were ever to lose his power, he feels as if he would still be able to make friends, forge alliances, and convince people of his points and opinions. He is cool, confident, and suave, and speaks with an element of seduction that seems to persuade people into believing whatever strand of reality he weaves. As a very extroverted person, he keeps his calm even when confronted with enormous opposition.
But while it's all he will tell you about his personality, this is only half the story. He denies his weaknesses, and pushes them back, saving them to be tackled "later," whenever life allows him to confront them. Which, in all likelihood, is never. He has denied his Drokagr birth, believing that his is instead 100% human. He thinks this is happy enough, but wonders what kind of life he would live if he investigated more into the hardly-concealed lie his father told everyone. If he were to live as a half-Drokagr openly, he would escape from the responsibilities of leadership, from the eyes constantly analyzing. An escape would be something. Perhaps, then, he could stop denying another "weaker" half--his sexuality. He has found himself attracted to not just the noble girls, but also his fellow noblemen. He's never acted on the urge, though once he considered attending a masquerade dressed as a woman; as heir to the Corday line, he has rationally concluded that he can't be involved in any controversy. The family doesn't need any more doubt.
Yet, to be free to do as he wishes...
Even when the house is crumbling, the facade must be maintained. The doubt must be suppressed.
History:
Jean Corday, head of the Corday Duchy, married into money. Born a poor villager, he stole a suit and posed as a foreign diplomat in the Farsica family's annual Masquerade Ball. That night, he impregnated the oldest of the Farsica sisters, Bela. The next day, he was dining with her father, discussing political matters over dinner. Bela had fallen in love, and Lord Farsica was overjoyed at Jean's apparent intelligence. He was married into the family quickly and with great celebration, and Jean was given mayorship over a small town.
Jean's down experienced a huge economic boom once gold was discovered in a mining vein nearby, but over the course of Bela's pregnancy, the rest of the Farsica lands experienced a terrible recession. Jean allowed a tax on his town's exports, which was distributed in Farsica's name. Now, they owed him. His heirship was assured, unless the Farsicas had a male child.
They did.
A few nights after Daro Farsica's birth, he suffocated in his crib.
A shock went through the entire family. Suspicions of Jean's involvement were raised, then quickly dismissed, as Bela swore under oath that he had been with her that night. A Drokagr servant was tried, found guilty, and executed the next day, but the damage had been done; Lady Farsica was bedridden with grief, and Lord Farsica had been entirely broken. He prayed to the stars, consulted the books, and decided to grant Jean heirship after his death.
Liselle Corday was born, and two years later came Aurelle. Jean was not angry with his wife; bearing two girls was not her fault, he knew. But she was ashamed, and feared that a third would ensure the end of the line for the Duchy. She insisted that the stars would not let her bear one more until her father died, and the Corday's line was ensured. That happened three years later, as the Lord Farsica grew frail and died. Jean took his place as the leader, with Bela at his side, and so the ages-old Farsica Duchy was renamed Corday. The next year, Bela bore another girl, Claudia.
In Duke Corday's Manse, there worked a few servants, some of which were Drokagr who had been spared an axe to the head. One was named Fay, and she was beautiful. Some time after Claudia's birth, Jean began visiting Fay; the girl was noticed to have grown fat with pregnancy, as had Bela. One night, with witnesses to confirm, Bela gave birth to a son with bright blonde hair. That night, Fay disappeared.
And that was how Henri came to be.
When Henri was ten, Bela could not stand the lies any longer. She publicly divorced and condemned Jean. Bela's claim was that, all those years ago, Jean had not been with her the night Daro Farsica was strangled in his sleep. Beyond that, she claimed that the heirship of Henri Corday was illegitimate, as he was half Corday but had no Farsica blood--that he was born of a Drokagr maidservant.
Jean claimed that she had gone mad, and committed her to the nearest jail, where her words could do no harm. He engaged in a public campaign to confirm the narrative--that Bela and he had conceived Liselle the night Daro was killed, that Henri was the only living male in the line born half-Farsica and half-Corday, and thus, that he was the rightful heir to the Duchy. The public, after a few days of rioting, eventually was convinced.
Henri has lived in the Duke's Manse ever since, keeping the lie strong. He has convinced himself of the truth of Jean's story. Meanwhile, old Farsica's alliance to the Sovereign Kingdom of Cruinthe is not necessarily the new Corday Duchy's alliance. Until Jean dies, the Duchy is considered to still be in a transitory period between lines--hence the need for a half-Farsica to have the throne--and thus, their alliances are liquid, but assumed to be with the SKC.
As a result, he has been sent emissaries from Julgrava's palace, meant to convince him to continue the alliance--sometimes using threats, and sometimes using diplomacy. He has developed a keen sense of the balance in the ongoing struggle for control, and when he inherits his "birthright," plans to become a deft negotiator. He has recently given more favor to the Republic of Cruinthe, as he finds their message of diplomacy extremely attractive.
In his youth, he traveled and grew to know his lands, learning well how to ride a horse. He was taught battle tactics and diplomacy in equal amounts, though he always favored the peaceful option. Perhaps as a child of divorce, he longed to bring two split sides back together through peace talks. He has always used conversation to learn things, whether from his villagers, diplomats, or other nobles. At the annual Masquerade, many other nobles from around the Duchies would attend, and they would converse over a few days. He would also travel outside his own lands to attend events, festivals and balls in the other Duchies. Over this time, he often fell into bed with a noble girl or two; he was always careful, though, not to create a mess. All three of the Corday sisters have been married off, now; he alone would decide the house's future fate.
As Jean grows into old age, many eyes are turning to Henri, wanting to know how he will lead the new Corday Duchy. The time for playful sex and conversational learning is near its end; now, every action will have much greater consequence. But now, his old lovers have grown up, and some of them are in similar positions of power; he finds himself tied in the middle of a complicated web of relationships, even more complicated than the tripartate political diplomacy he's engaged in on the national level.
What a tangled web he has been woven into! Will he continue to repress the truth of his birth, and align his duchy with the revolutionary movements? Or will he discover the truth, embrace it, and in so doing deny himself the right to rule?
